Author: Lisa Grossman / Source: Science News
The next NASA Mars rover will hunt for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet in what used to be a river delta, the agency announced on November 19.
The rover is expected to launch in July 2020 and to land on Mars around February 18, 2021. The craft will seek out signs of past life in the sediments and sands of Jezero crater, which was once home to a 250-meter-deep lake and a river delta that flowed into the lake.
“This is a major attraction from our point of view for a habitable environment,” said Mars 2020 project scientist Ken Farley of Caltech in a news conference discussing the site. “A delta is extremely good at preserving biosignatures,” Farley said. Any evidence of life that may once have existed in the lake water, or even…
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